Mr & Mrs Smith

The Cullen

Melbourne, Australia

With skyline views of Melbourne, boutique hotel The Cullen takes its cue from the art of the late Australian enfant terrible Adam Cullen, offering cool contemporary rooms starring original paintings and prints, two tasty restaurants, a bar, Smart cars and bespoke bikes. Shopping addicts will love the fashionable Prahran location too, opposite the food market.

Need to know

• Rooms 119, including eight suites.
• Rates Double rooms from $180.29 (AU$190), excluding tax at 10 per cent.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (AU$190) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates exclude breakfast but include 24-hour gym.
• Facilities Gym with yoga deck, bikes, Smart cars, hair salon, WiFi throughout (AU$9.95 a day). In rooms: LCD flatscreen TV with Foxtel, DVD player, preloaded iPod and iPod dock, Adam Cullen artworks, art books, Art Series toiletries, minibar, kitchenette.
• Poolside There's no pool at the Cullen, but you can use the one at sister art hotel the Olsen for free, just a 15-minute stroll away, or enjoy a discount at Prahran Aquatic Centre just two minutes' walk away.
• Check-out 11am, but flexible subject to availability. Check-in, 2pm.
• Children The Cullen is a fairly adult playground, but nippers are welcome. Baby cots can be supplied for free and extra beds cost AU$70 a night. Babysitting with a local nanny is yours for AU$90 for three hours. More...
• Also Two bespoke red sit-up-and-beg Swedish Kronan bicycles are up for grabs for AU$5 an hour if you fancy wheeling round the shops or you can hire a dinky Art Series-branded Smart car from AU$10 an hour, or AU$60 a day.

Food and drink at The Cullen

• Hotel restaurant

  The Cullen doesn't run its own in-house restaurant, but enjoys strong links with two tasty tenant eateries which peel off its ground-floor. Gramercy Bistro, which includes a covered streetside deck, whips up wholesome breakfasts as well as New York-style fare, such as knockout steaks, Reuben sandwiches and buttermilk pancakes. Next door, seductive Chinese restaurant Hutong is the go-to spot for dumplings and duck come dusk (it even boasts its own custom-built duck oven).

• Dress code This is Melbourne darlings, so make it black, layered and deconstructed. To work the art crowd look, team vintage op-shop finds with local designer labels.
• Top table Grab a semi-alfresco pew at Gramercy Bistro, in the covered corner deck; at Hutong, the private dining rooms take some beating if you're eating with pals.
• Last orders Gramercy serves dinner and drinks until 11pm; Hutong sees action until 10.30pm Sunday–Thursday, and 11.30pm Friday–Saturday.
• Room service Available 24-hours a day, room service is handled by Gramercy Bistro, known for its kick-ass coffee. This is also where you'll come for breakfast if you'd prefer not to take it in your room.
• Hotel bar

  Stylish but not uptight, Gramercy Bistro doubles as a bar, serving wine, cocktails and quaffable coffees all day. Don't miss the street art figure by French stencil god Blek Le Rat on the adjacent wall (he also sneaked a trademark black rat up in room 318 when he stayed chez Cullen).

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

The Cullen 164 Commercial Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3181